Jonah
Audio By Day
Creator by Night
History of the JoTheFox Logo
Signature Logo (Current)
History of the Logo
The logo started out as an idea. There was a strong urge to place a visual representation of JoTheFox or it would just be a name without any identification. Additionally, there was also the thought of creating something that would reflect the personality and character of myself. Thus the idea of a proper visual representation was conceived.
The Prototype Logo
(2014 - 2016)
That small spark
Having some free time out of school, I knew I had to somehow improve my artistic skills. I had the ideas, just not the patience. It was frustrating, but I knew I had to start somewhere. The resources were all out there, time was my only enemy.
​
The idea behind the Prototype Logo was simple - a head with text, somewhere...
​
I did not want it to be too complicated. It would be more of a headache for me. I also knew I wanted the text JoTheFox to be part of it as well. I started out with the head first, drawing techniques I thought would have been easy, as I needed my logo to have a symmetrical feel. I needed full control of my strokes. So I turned to a technique that seemed suitable at that time - pixel art. Boy was I wrong. It was difficult to get the shadings right and I had to work with one pixel at a time. That was a challenge. I managed miraculously work out a rough concept to my liking, thankfully though meticulous pixel calculations. With the head out, I just needed to place the desired text into the logo.
​
I was met with a challenge - I made a constrain on myself that I would not use any form of ready-made font to produce the text. I was ambitious. Really ambitious. My art skills were half past six but I knew I had to at least try. It was no easy feat, I did not have the skill nor the knowledge to effectively carry this out successfully. I needed an alternative plan. I decided then to reduce the text to just 3 letters - J, T & F. These were the crucial letters that needed to be established for the logo to be completed according to my intended design. Dropping the other letters also meant that I had more space to play around. This would also make the logo a little less cluttered and more clean. I was also particular about consistency. The logo needed to be proportionate in all aspects. (OCD behavior to its max)
​
In the end, after much obsession with the minute details and trying to make it as symmetrical as I could. I settled with the design. The head was inspired by the head of the wolf. Why wolf? Just seems cooler I suppose? Not entirely, I just felt that it would have looked nicer and maybe fiercer, more elegant compared to the Fox. In the end, the logo did not turn out how I felt it could been. It was blurry, pixelated and just downright unpleasant to the eye. Mistakes in scaling were made and I did not know how to rectify those issues. I was just filled with a lot of frustration with myself and my "meh" abilities. I guess I was just being too critical of everything about it. Ultimately, I just left the logo as it was and this lasted roughly about 2 years with no changes to it. I was just disappointed with myself, wanting to give up hope.
The Vanilla Logo
(2016 - 2017)
Turning Point
After 2 years, I revisited the logo once again. I was still determined to create that signature logo that was representative of the Gamer Name or persona that I had adopted in virtual reality. It was also a subtle way of knowing me without entirely knowing me. Confusing eh? At this time, my skills were a little bit better compared to 2 years ago. So you might say I was a little more confident in my abilities and I was itching to do something about that failed attempt of a logo 2 years back.
​
I decided to use the same "head & text" elements found in the previous logo because I felt that these needed to form the basis of my design. I did away with pixel art. It was too tedious and I needed to practice. In essence, I was lazy and wanted a quick fire way to do things fast so I can churn something out quick and iterate on it. I did not want to go through the hassle of drawing my own shapes from scratch.
​
At this point of time, I was also experimenting a lot on PowerPoint - oh yes that nifty tool that normal people use to make presentation slides. But I knew I was not normal person. I played around with it, especially utilizing the basic shapes drawing function to create the geometric and straight edge shapes that I needed to feel secure in. The functionality of the tool suited my needs and my fixation to have the visuals to be as clean as possible were fulfilled.
​
This time, I was, you could say a little smarter. I did my research first before I delve into the unknown. I got out the basic shape I wanted my head to be and used the basic shape tool to 'carve' out what I wanted my logo to look like. It took me a while to perfect my technique and before long, things started to shape up pretty well.
​
Thus born the Vanilla Logo - the purest form, the first.
​
Known as the Vanilla Logo for the simple fact that it was the first real logo that I was relatively happy and satisfied with after numerous failed attempts. In all honestly, it turned out pretty cool. Pardon me for bragging. It was symmetrical, straight edged and geometric; elements that satisfied my uncanny art constraints. I was beginning to understand my style and learning to embrace it. The colors of the logo while not unpleasing to sight, was a lacking a lot in coherence. They did not seem to match. But nonetheless, I chucked the though aside as I was relatively satisfied with it.
​
Next came the text (rhythm not intended). I knew I still wanted J,T and F to be part of it. Positioning wise, I was in a dilemma. Should I place it at the bottom, top, side? I was even considering to do away with it altogether because it was making matters so confusing. In an effort to quickly identify a suitable position, I used the text box tool in PowerPoint, to type out the required text and just played around with various positions within the logo. Whoa! Wait a minute... I suddenly came across a good location. It looked balanced! That position? Dead center on the top of the head. It just had one problem though, the font looked, weird. I needed a more dynamic font, one to bring out the slyness, the cunning which is that of the Fox. But, there was none on the font list in PowerPoint. I did not want to use the internet for this even though I had that option open. I felt that trusty old Microsoft had my back.
​
And so, with that, this marked the successful creation of that signature logo that I have always been yearning for and also sparking off some more alternate logos utilizing the same design. I was beginning to feel the versatility of this logo in bringing forth more ideas I had in the nutcase of a skull of mine.
​
​
The Vanilla Logo - Troll Edition
(2017)
The Vanilla Logo - Audio Edition
(2017 )
Besides being that serious of a person that I can be at times, I knew I needed a more light-hearted and humorous tone and feel to the logo. The Troll Edition was developed for that purpose in mind. It turned out pretty interesting just by inverting the eyes in a silly manner. It created a whole different emotion to the logo, reflecting the humor within me, that at times can be rather surprising. I did not want to be too upfront with it because it would not be entertaining. This logo was reflective of unique sense of humor at times and the sometimes crazy episodes that may happen when you least expect it.
​
Other than the Troll Edition, the Audio Edition​​ was also another significant part of the development of the logo and myself. At that time, I was experimenting with audio production and had some experimental tracks that I wanted to showcase. However, I did not just want to use the Vanilla Logo. I wanted something more explicit to the product at hand. Furthermore, it would have been more clear to tell visually what this production was about without the need of words to explain it outrightly.
​
To sum it all up, I counted the Vanilla Logo as an important milestone in the development and design process as it solidified certain rules I had in mind. I was able to be relatively proficient with the resources that I had and was also confident in using them. Although not of professional standard, it was enough for me. Satisfied, I took a break from any further changes the logo's design.
The Hound Head Edition
(Jan 2018 - Jan 2019)
Frontal Head Edition
(February 2018 - January 2019)
The Hound Head "27" Edition
(April 2018 - Jan 2019)
Iteration through Experiences
A year down the road, with the many new experiences and incidents happening, both pleasant and ugly, it was time for the signature logo to go through another iteration. An even more drastic change from the previous as things were happening around me faster than I could ever imagine. There was hence that need to produce a stronger logo that reflected more about the current state of affairs.
​
Behold! The Hound Head Edition - love, happiness, frustration, disappointment , anger and injustice, all rolled into one...
​
The logo was formed during a period of time where, you could say I was at my fullest and lowest point. It was where in a span of just 4 months, 3 main variants of the signature logo was developed. The Hound Head Edition was inspired as part of the turn of the new year, where I was feeling that there was a need for some form of change in myself and to take ownership of various aspects of my life. Ideas were drawn from sporting team logos as I felt they had the exaggeration n their form to produce a very distinct identity. In other words, one look, someone would know what that logo represented and what team it belonged to. In the same way, it was a way to relay that same message. In the same way as all previous logos, the initials were kept , this together with the animal fox. (colors & shape) Although it looked more like the head of a wild dog of sort, the intention was still based of the fox as the main animal of focus
​
The Frontal Head Edition, a month later was designed to complement another logo. It was conceived as I felt that I needed a better frontal logo than the Vanilla Edition, where it was just too raw around the edges and plain. It needed to create more of an impact and hit. More "Oomph" as I like to call it. I was also in the process of designing a production logo for myself to be used in home-made videos as a way of identification and branding for myself.
Production/Branding Logo
(April 2018 - August 2019)
Production/Branding Logo
( August 2019 - )
For more personal reasons as well, the Hound Head "27" Edition, was developed to remember my not only birthday age in 2018, but also the age where everything that I thought that was good and had planned just did not pan out as I hoped to be. That number will forever be marked on that logo and will probably serve as a reminder to myself. A warning of sort, but a necessary one as I continue the process of improving my own style and design.
The Restart
"Restart" Edition
(December 2018 - April 2019 )
"Restart" Values Edition
(January 2019 - April 2019)
Sometimes, life can be a pain in the ass, even much so being a Christian. There are times when I do not even know why things happen this way, but things happen not according to how I often perceive it. I often think the world revolves around me. The "Restart" Edition adds more distinctive attributes, serving as a reminder to be thankful for the many experiences that make me who are I am (for your own discretion on what they are). A restart because of letting go of so much rubbish accumulated in my life and finally understanding what it means to put one's trust in God. And despite so much trash, the grace and mercy Heavenly Father can still be seen and felt. The understanding of what it means to love and be loved because God first loved us unconditionally. It is still a struggle no doubt, still a great deal I do not know, but being a Christian is not without it struggles and slowly knowing the will of God for my life.
​
After a lot more time thinking, contemplating, asking and trying to understand myself, I came up with a question. What are the values that I hold very tightly and cherish? These attributes unlike the original "Restart" Edition are more internal rather than external and hold special meaning and are also certainly quite distinctive about my character. The "Restart" Values Edition highlights those unseen attributes. It serves as a reminder to myself that these are the values that I hold dearly and they play a huge part in who I am. It is in these that I hope others also share the same perspectives, fostering a common understanding and shared values with one another.
5 Years on
5th Year Edition
(April 2019 - October 2019)
5 years on since the signature logo was conceived, much has changed. The 5th Year Edition marks 5 years of worth of painful lessons, struggles and also many happy and fond memories. This edition marks new challenges that would be faced in life but with the newfound knowledge whatever hard lessons of the last 5 years, the next 5 years can be faced with hope. Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. The edition also marks, on a more candid level, 5 years of playing the video game Counter-Strike, competitively. It is the one game that I have enjoyed over the years. Thinking about the last 5 years, and in more recent times, it also serves as a reminder that things happen for a reason. You may not understand it there and then, but in time you will. Slowly but surely, one day at a time...
Back to Basics
'Back To Basic' Edition
(October 2019 - )
Things change as the days and months go by. Setbacks and trials. And at times, it is good to take a step back and reflect on the many things that has happened. The Back To Basic Edition marks probably a new point where you realise things are pretty much out of your control. As much as you want to be in control. Everything that you once were is now stripped away as you begin afresh. You feel different, but you also feel the same. The past does not define who you are and it does not justify the means as well. Persevere on.
​
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6
What's next?
The future of the logo will always be uncertain. Nothing will remain constant, but I am reminded everyday that each day is a blessing. How and when the logo will evolve again will be anyone's guess. A lot of iterations has been done with the logo and it is what it is today because of not only the improvement of skill and knowledge, but more importantly the experiences faced. Each evolution step and each new design conceived tells a unique tale of its influence. However, certain elements of the logo will still hold true - the Fox and the "J.T.F" text. They form the basis of the logo and are the most identifiable attributes that make this logo such a unique one indeed.
The logo will continue to progress. Whether because of positive or painful lessons, it will continue with much additions and layerings that will be added upon.
​
With much thanks to my Heavenly Father...
​
​
Jonah Teoh (December - 2019[updated])